


Nightmares

by thatonenerdygeek



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Angst, Character Death In Dream, Fluff, M/M, Mild Gore, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 08:23:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8320750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonenerdygeek/pseuds/thatonenerdygeek
Summary: Rhys tries to convince Jack to actually get some sleep. But Jack quickly realizes that was a huge mistake.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags before continuing on! 
> 
> I had this idea in my head a looooong time ago and I'm only just now finishing it up because writer's block is a bitch. Prepare yourself for a lot of emotions and definitely some fluff at the end to make up for it <3
> 
> My Tumblr (come say hi, guys!) ~ hancock4prez.tumblr.com ~

There were a lot of things Jack had to get used to when he had his body back again. Like eating. Holy shit, he could easily eat all day if his goddamn stomach didn’t stop him. He never realized how much he missed food until he could actually eat it again. Alcohol too. Ah, there was nothing like that pleasant warm feeling that washed over him after having a few glasses of scotch. Sleep was also different. As an AI, he would just shove himself into the little crevices deep in Rhys’ head whenever he needed to take a break. But he would never count that as actual ‘sleep’. Now...sleeping was difficult.

It was the darkness. The nothingness. It reminded him of being trapped in the empty abyss of Rhys’ cybernetics once the little shit tore them out of his head. It startled him to the point where he had gone a good few days with less than a few hours of sleep. Rhys, the observant little creature he was, took notice and practically begged Jack to get some decent rest. Yes, he wanted to sleep. Desperately. But that feeling just...terrified him. Though, he would never admit it to anyone. Not even his...’boyfriend’. 

_”Jack...please. For me? You turn into even more of an asshole when you’re tired.” Jack narrowed his eyes at Rhys in a death glare, though the kid’s eyebrows just shot up, not even flinching. “See? Point proven. You need to sleep. Things will be fine here for a few hours. I’ll handle everything. Okay?” The lanky man stepped towards where Jack was seated at his desk, chrome hand extending to tug at his forearm. “Come on. Go sleep.”_

And he did, though begrudgingly. Not only did he just not like the idea of the darkness that came with sleeping but trusting the kid with the company for a while made him uneasy. Yeah, they were technically co-CEO’s and all but seriously, Rhys barely even knew how to dress himself or take care of himself properly. Jack had only agreed to it because it would get him back in an Atlas built body. 

But despite his worries, Jack did eventually fall asleep.

And it was the biggest mistake he had ever recently made.

_”Oh, come on, John, sweetheart, you know I don’t like having to play hide and seek with you.”_

_In the corner of his room, young Jack hid in the shadows, knees pressed up against his chest and lip quivering. He hadn’t **meant** to break the plate. His grandmother had suddenly raised her voice at him and...and it startled him and...he didn’t **mean** to. _

_“I know you’re in here, boy. Just come out now and I won’t make you pick up the plate with your bare hands.” Jack shivered at the thought. Last time he had broken one of her drinking glasses, she forced him to pick up each little shard, telling him to grip them **hard** when he picked them up. By the time he was done, tiny pieces of glass were embedded into his skin and his hands were covered in enough blood to make him feel woozy. _

_He **really** didn’t want to do that again._

_With a soft whimper, Jack stood up on shaky legs and made his way out of the shadows, arms wrapped around himself protectively. He wanted to ignore her, he wanted to ignore the dark look in her eyes, he wanted to ignore the buzz axe in her hand. But he couldn’t. He knew ignoring her would just give him a hard smack on the face. So, he tried to suck it up, his heterochromatic eyes trained on his grandmother as she approached him._

_“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? You know the drill, John.” Jack uttered out a soft ‘yes, ma’am’ and turned to walk back over to the wall. Small hands splayed out over the cool surface, trying to force himself to focus on that instead of the dread of what was to come. He wanted to look back, wanted to know what she was doing and when that first mark would be left on his back. No. He wasn’t allowed to. He wasn’t allowed to look. He wasn’t allowed to feel some sort of comfort in knowing when exactly that blade would slice into his skin._

_No. He was only allowed to suffer._

_The first slice of the blade tore a loud cry from the child’s lips, his body tensing as white hot pain coursed throughout his veins, eating away at him. He could already feel the back of his shirt beginning to soak up the crimson liquid that bubbled from the fresh wound. Everything stung, everything **hurt**._

_“I’m doing this because I love you. You know that, right?”_

_“Yes, m-ma’am.”_

_It was a lie. Love wasn’t like this. Love was..._

_All of a sudden, that blinding pain began to fade away and the surroundings along with it. Then, he was back on Helios, sitting back at his desk with his feet propped up on top. Rhys was running around like a chicken with his head cut off because of how nervous he was. It was their first day together as co-CEO’s. And clearly, that kind of responsibility did not sit well with the kid._

_“Jack. Seriously. I’m not **like** you. I don’t have this natural ability to be all mighty and powerful and I just can’t....” Rhys continued rambling on and on but Jack couldn’t bring himself to listen. This...this was love. Love was what Jack felt as he watched Rhys run around, unable to keep himself from thinking about how surprisingly cute he seemed in that moment. If anyone else had been doing this, Jack would have just rolled his eyes at them and told them to suck it up. Rhys was different though. Somehow. He didn’t really understand **how** he was different but he just...was._

_“Jack? Jack!” Rhys’ ear piercing scream brought Jack out of his thoughts and back to reality. The scene before him made his heart want to shatter into a million pieces. His grandmother...that goddamn **bitch** that was supposed to be dead...was standing right behind Rhys. **His** Rhys. Her buzz axe pierced through his back and all the way out through his stomach. The kid’s eyes were wide, glistening with tears as blood, guts and flesh coated the floor beneath him. _

_As if in slow motion, those eyes...those perfect mismatched eyes that Jack loved to get lost in and stare into. Those perfect goddamn eyes that held so much light and wonder...they faded to nothing. What once held light and life were now dead, emotionless as Rhys’ body slowly fell forward and collapsed onto the floor. Jack’s grandmother still stood, a proud smirk on her face as she ‘tsk’ed at him. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to run over and cradle Rhys’ lifeless body in his arms, hold him close and never let him go. But Jack was glued to his chair. stuck staring at the woman that just murdered the only person that showed him that maybe...just **maybe** he could be happy._

_“This is what happens, John. Eventually...everyone you will ever love will die because of **you**.”_

Jack bolted up in bed, beads of sweat making strands of hair cling to the sides of his mask-ridden face. It took a moment for his one good eye to adjust to the dark surroundings. He was...it was just a dream. No, a nightmare. A stupid nightmare. Why the hell did he ever agree to going to sleep? Oh, Jack would give Rhys hell for...

Soft snoring beside him caught Jack’s attention. Brows furrowed, his eyes shifted towards the source of the sound. The slight annoyance towards Rhys for making him sleep was gone in an instant and his whole face softened. Jack couldn’t even be bothered to be mad at Rhys for not being in the office. He looked so damn... _cute_ sleeping. Especially when he was sleeping in Jack’s old sweater. It was so baggy on him that he was practically swallowed up in the fabric. God, that face of his...

Careful not to wake up his...’boyfriend’, Jack slowly laid back down onto the bed. Nah, he probably wasn’t gonna go back to sleep. Not after the hellish nightmare he just had to endure. But he was still content just...watching Rhys. Admiring him. Wondering how the hell he got so damn lucky. A large hand reached out to gingerly card his thick fingers through Rhys’ soft locks, the gel that typically held them in place now long gone. So Jack took it upon himself to brush the strands back, leaving one side of Rhys’ face completely visible. The other half was buried into the pillow where Jack could just barely make out the wet spot from the drool pouring out of his mouth. How was he so... _friggin’_ cute?

It was in that moment that Jack realized it. He _loved_ Rhys. Rhys was the only bit of light in his dark, dark life. Rhys was probably the only thing keeping him together at this point. There was no way Jack would ever let anything serious happen to that sweet little idiot. As long as Jack was around, there was _no_ way anyone or anything would ever touch his Rhys.

And that was a goddamn promise.


End file.
